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Apple Store Ginza For several years, Apple Computer, Inc. has been actively opening company-operated retail stores in the United States. Recently, Apple Computer opened its first flagship store outside its home market, the Apple Store Ginza in Japan. Situated favorably on a corner site on Ginza's Chuo Dori, a major thoroughfare in the heart of Tokyo's prestigious Ginza shopping district, the store occupies one underground floor and five aboveground floors of the Sayegusa Honkan Building (an eight-story steel-reinforced concrete structure built by Kajima in 1965). U.S. architectural office Bohlin Cywinski Jackson is the owner's architect, and Kajima is the design-builder. The building has been completely renovated for its high-profile new tenant and now sports a sleek two-tiered exterior design. The lower stories are clad in stainless steel panels with a glass-bead sandblast finish accentuated by prominent backlit signs of the familiar Apple logo. The upper stories are covered with glass curtain walls and ceramic printed glass. The design evokes images of the computers that Apple manufactures. This design concept is carried over throughout the store's interior, where monotone limestone floors, stainless steel paneled walls, and glass-walled elevators create the overall effect of a showroom rather than a retail store. Apple Store Ginza offers attractions to appeal to visitors of all ages. The first floor is a computer sales floor, and the second floor space is divided between a display area for computer-related products and the Genius Bar, where visitors ask a Mac "genius" questions and receive advice. The third floor is given over to the Theater, a lecture and demonstration area. The fourth floor houses a software sales area, children's zone, and Internet cafˇ. The fifth floor contains the Studio, space devoted to workshops conducted for the general public. The store format provides visitors with a thoroughly satisfying tour of the world of Apple Computer. The new store opened on November 30, 2003 with great fanfare. A crowd of enthusiastic visitors braved a cold rain to form a long line that extended around the corner of the building and down Ginza's Chuo Dori street, and Apple Computer was forced to restrict admission to the store. The flagship Ginza store will probably prove highly significant as an indicator of the future direction of Apple Computer's retail store development program in Japan. |
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Bubba Gump Shrimp Restaurant at Times Square in New York City Kajima U.S.A. Inc. got a taste of Hollywood in 2003 when it was selected to design and construct the first Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. restaurant to open in the Northeast. Based on a fictional company in the popular movie Forrest Gump, this theme restaurant incorporates an atmosphere derived from the film. Due to its location in the heart of Manhattan's Times Square, this was a high-profile project for all involved. Built to seat 400 patrons, this 15,000-square-foot (1,400-square-meter) restaurant also consists of a gift shop and unique finishes that provide the movie-world context. Old barn wood can be found on the walls, used corrugated metal decking is on the ceilings, wood planks comprise the flooring, and festoon lighting provides the ambience. For the restaurant to be ready in time for the scheduled opening, the project required 16 weeks of fast-track design and construction by the Kajima team. Shortened from its original 21 weeks, this aggressive schedule, combined with the challenges of building a restaurant in a landmark Times Square structure, tested the mettle of Kajima's design-build team. To the satisfaction of the owner, the restaurant was ready for its gala opening on December 10, 2003. |
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Along the way, the team encountered a series of challenges that could have delayed the project, but each was overcome without skipping a beat. The project required the installation of extensive mechanical elements that included a 180-ton modular chiller, a 40-ton cooling tower and all associated piping, structural steel, and ductwork rising 13 stories to the roof. Installing the units on the roof required hoisting them with a crane set up in the middle of busy Times Square. Crane operations had to take place between the hours of 12 a.m. and 6 a.m. and required the shutting down of West 43rd Street, one of the main thoroughfares. In the city that never sleeps, precision operations and extensive coordination with the police department were needed even during the early hours to ensure that the road was reopened for each morning rush and the project remained on schedule. Two days in this already tight schedule were then lost to the Northeastern power outage of 2003. Completing the work also required access to the ceilings of two other restaurants located below the site. To make sure that these restaurants' operations were not interfered with, their ceilings had to be disassembled and then reassembled each night. These and other significant challenges threatened to deter the schedule, but with the use of three round-the-clock shifts of trades and management teams to supervise them, working in three separate locations simultaneously (the roof, restaurant, and gift shop), the project was completed in time. At its peak, the tight facility held 40 to 50 workers, but a consistent effort to maintain a clean site resulted in not one safety issue--a testament to the supervisory teams of Kajima and its subcontractors. The restaurant is now a popular attraction in this world-famous area of New York. |
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Honda's Technical Training Center Awarded to Thai Kajima In October 2003, Thai Kajima Co., Ltd. was awarded the contract for construction of Honda's Technical Training Center in Thailand. Thai Kajima's bid was greatly supported by an environmentally friendly approach and energy-efficient design by Kajima Design Asia Pte Ltd, which appealed to Honda Automobile (Thailand) Co., Ltd. The announcement of the contract award followed a design competition in which all major Japanese general contractors participated. |
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VIPs Attend Successful Excavation of the Yuanshantzu Flood-Diversion Tunnel On December 1, 2003, a gala ceremony was held to mark the successful "breakthrough" of the Yuanshantzu Flood-Diversion Tunnel, part of the Keelung River flood-diversion project under construction in Taipei County, the Republic of China (Taiwan). Top ROC government officials attended the ceremony. This project, undertaken to reduce damage in the Taipei metropolitan area caused by flooding of the Keelung River, comprises water intake facilities on the Keelung River, a drainage tunnel 12 meters (39 feet) in diameter and 2,483 meters (8,146 feet) in length, and facilities that discharge floodwater into the sea. Kajima's Taiwan Branch was awarded the contract for this important infrastructure project in a technical proposal tender conducted in May 2002. The construction period is a comparatively short 28 months, with a target completion date of October 4, 2004. R.O.C. President Chen Shui-bian, Premier Yu Shyi-kun, and other dignitaries attended a morning ceremony at a venue prepared near the entrance to the tunnel. The event began with a brief explanation of the project from the operator, followed by speeches from President Chen and Premier Yu. Next, eight dignitaries jointly set off an explosive charge to complete excavation of the tunnel. The attendees then proceeded to a second venue inside the tunnel, where the guests of honor engaged in a traditional sake barrel opening ceremony and posed for commemorative photos at the excavation site. The ceremony ended successfully before noon. The ceremony received extensive coverage on TV news programs and in the print media and featured prominently on the front pages of Taiwan's leading daily newspapers the following day. |
 Vol. 28 Spring 2004
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